Residents step in to stop two people from stealing the purse of a 54-year-old woman

Several residents stepped in to stop two people from stealing the purse of a 54-year-old woman on Monday.

The citizens arrest came at about 5:30 p.m. on Monday after a man ran up to the shopping cart being used by the woman and grabbed her purse while she was loading groceries into her car. The man then ran into a nearby green minivan and told the driver to drive away – all while the woman yelled that her purse had been stolen.

The two people didn’t get far, though, as one resident reached into the minivan and grabbed the keys. A few more people then grabbed the man from the vehicle and restrained him on the ground for four to five minutes until police arrived.

The man, Jamie Martinez, 36, was arrested on suspicion of theft.

The driver of the vehicle ran from the scene, though police later arrested Angelica Canales, 25, at a nearby bank on suspicion of accessory to theft, criminal impersonation and attempt to influence a public servant.

No one was injured in the arrest. Lt. Carl Alm of the Greeley Police Department said that citizen arrests are not common and should only be attempted if one’s safety is not at stake.

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“Each one of these situations is unique and people just need to do the best they can to assess whether it’s safe to do something like this and whether the consequences could be somebody getting hurt or assaulted or something like that,” Alm said.